The present fluid drip detector is an improvement over the detector disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. forthcoming to issue. In that invention, a valve body comprised a single door engageable with a seat. In a no drip condition, the door would be urged against the seat. In a drip condition, a film of water would form between the door and the seat. By measuring the electrical resistance between the door and the seat, a drip can be detected as its characterized by an increase in electrical resistance. Thus, in case of a drip, the electrical resistance between the door and the seat would increase, signaling the user that a drip has occurred and/or shutting off the fluid supply. It was discovered, that in case the fluid contained impurities, dirt, dust or solid particles, a build up of such impurities or corrosion could occur between the door and the seat, resulting in an increase in the electrical resistance there between, which in turn would cause an alarm to go off and/or the fluid supply to shut off. Thus, although there was no drip, the alarm could have gone off and/or the fluid supply could have shut off. Therefore, when the fluid contained impurities and dirt, the device was prone to false alarms.
Thus, it is the object of the present invention to provide a fluid drip detector which would not cause false alarms. It is an object of this invention to provide a detector which would only shut off the fluid supply in case of a fluid drip, and not in case of a build up of impurities between the door and the seat. It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an electrical resistance detector which would distinguish between a building up of impurities between the door and the seat, and a sheet of water between the door and the seat. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a fluid drip detector having a dual door and seat configuration, where, in case dirt accumulates between the first door and seat, if there is no drip, no false alarm would occur.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide an improved timer unit, which can be used with any fluid detector that produces an electrical output in case of fluid drip, flow or movement. It is a further object of this invention to produce a timer unit which can provide the user additional features such as: override and warning features. It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a timer unit which can be activated either manually, by the user, or remotely, by an electrical signal from any fluid detector; which is produced by the quick opening and closing of any fluid valve in the system.